Cosmological Considerations
Despite their enduring love for each other, paradise was not without its problems for Ray and Lesa. Lesa’s domestication in a home with family was unlike anything she had experienced growing up and it came to consume virtually all her energies. As a young wife and then a mother supporting liberal causes she lost her drive to achieve further scientific success. The science that had forged their relationship became secondary to the pleasures of family and raising an extraordinary son — Roger was so like his father. But in the layers beneath all that happiness Ray was frustrated not only by losing Lesa’s enthusiastic support of his passion to understand the nature of the universe, but also by his being excluded from family secrets that affected every aspect of his personal life.
Ray never lost his love for Lesa, but he became somewhat embittered nonetheless. As Roger became more independent Lesa began feeling guilty for not having supported Ray’s aspirations more fully over the years on the cosmology book. Lesa realized that she must inform Ray of a secret Helen had told her before she died. She hoped it would improve his attitude, if only a little. But she needed to understand more about his growing up with Helen first, so she demanded he take her up to Canyon Creek and tell her about it.
Having learned Helen’s secret, even if not what he had wondered about, did give Ray an improved perspective. Surprisingly, Lesa became pregnant. Noticing Ray’s decline, she contributed with a renewed vigor to get the cosmology book published before the baby came. With advancing age and senility, Ray was no longer much help. The secrets that were so difficult to share, had to be shared, one of which even Lesa was unaware. Sharing brought trauma. [Read the excerpt here.] The baby’s birth and Ray’s induction to the Hall of Fame came crashing down on them